Kachess Ridge / Kachess Beacon

What a sweet trail and lots of flowers! To get there take exit 70 off of I-90, cross over I-90 to West Sparks Road and follow that to Kachess Dam Road (FS4818). From there it is about a mile to a turnoff on the right. There are some papers tacked to a tree at the junction but no sign. The road to the trailhead is not really all that bad. It is single lane but has turnouts. Not a whole lot of parking at the trailhead and no facilities. The trailhead sign reads trails 1325 and 1212.

Trail #1212 goes down to a large campground on Silver Creek. Proceed left and cross a footbridge just below a small dam. From there the trail climbs a bruising 1000 ft in just .8 of a mile to Easton Ridge and then another aggressive 1000 ft in 2 miles to the top of the ridge.

Trail #1325 heads north up a steep incline then moderates up through some generous switchbacks 1.9 miles to a junction. The tread is broad and free of rocks and roots. At every clearing the flowers are abundant.

The junction is just past a small talus slope and is marked by a small cairn. Go right to Beacon Point which is a steep .9 mile climb up a mostly bare slope covered with flowers. The track is adequate but goes straight up in some places - definitely in the Kamikazi or Mailbox class. Great views up on top with good rocks to sit upon.

The left trail from the junction is marked with branches across it for no particular reason. This trail goes up the Silver Creek valley to West Peak, Thorp, and eventually along No Name Ridge, 10 miles one way. It is worth following for a short half mile to the waterfalls but from there it is dirty salt & pepper snow through the forest. Not much to see beyond the falls. When the snow melts, a couple of blowdowns will become evident.